Saina's Olympic nemesis comes calling at Indian Open

She crushed Saina Nehwal's Olympic dreams in Beijing and world number 18 Maria Kristin Yulianti is hoping for an encore if the two face off in the Indian Open Grand Prix Badminton tournament starting here tomorrow.

"Saina is a world class player. What happened in Beijing is past. This is a new tournament and a new challenge. I have always enjoyed playing against Saina.

"She is really fast and cover the court really well. I hope I can defeat her this time too," 23-year-old Yulianti said.

Yulianti had beaten Saina in the Olympic quarterfinals where she came back from 12-19 down to get the better of the Indian. Saina is not the only one Yulianti is wary of and said she is not taking her other opponents lightly either.

"The field is tough and if one has to win this one, she has to be really at her best," she said. Playing such a big tournament after a long knee injury lay-off after the Olympics, Yulianti said she is here to acclimatise herself for the world championship to be held here in August.

"It would be a very good experience to play here in different conditions which would help us in future," Yulianti said. The Indonesian was in high spirits as she practised with her colleagues here at the Gopi Chand Academy. "I am feeling much better now.

"It was really disappointing to miss out of big sports events after the Olympics bronze," said Yulianti.

Yulianti said winning the Olympic bronze was a great experience for her but now her next target is winning the World Championship.

"Winning the Olympic medal is very special for me. But now after this tournament the focus shifts to winning a world championship title," she said.

Yulianti said Saina would have the backing of the crowd but she will try not to get distracted if the two come face to face in the semis here. But for now, the Indonesian prefers to focus on one round at a time.

"Let me take it step-by-step," she said.